Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine blade assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical turbine combustor configurations expose turbine blade assemblies to these high temperatures. As a result, turbine airfoils must be made of materials capable of withstanding such high temperatures. In addition, turbine airfoils often contain cooling systems for prolonging the life of the airfoils and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures.
Typically, turbine vanes are formed from an inner endwall at one end, an elongated portion forming a blade that extends outwardly from the inner endwall, and an outer endwall coupled to an outer end of the blade. The inner aspects of most turbine vanes typically contain an intricate maze of cooling channels forming a cooling system. The cooling channels in a vane receive air from the compressor of the turbine engine and pass the air through the vane. The cooling channels often include multiple flow paths that are designed to maintain all aspects of the turbine vane at a relatively uniform temperature. However, air flow at boundary layers often prevent some areas of the turbine airfoil from being adequately cooled, which results in the formation of localized hot spots. Localized hot spots, depending on their location, can reduce the useful life of a turbine airfoil and can damage a turbine vane to an extent necessitating replacement of the airfoil. Conventional cooling systems positioned in endwalls of turbine airfoils typically include internal cooling channels. While these cooling channels reduce the temperature of portions of the endwall, there exist drawbacks where the system does not effectively cool areas of the endwalls having relatively large mass. Thus, there exists a need for a turbine vane with an improved cooling system.